APEX names its first Excellence Award winners

APEX banquet date: Thursday, May 21

Alaska Performance Excellence (APEX), an organization attached to the UAA College of Business and Public Policy through the Alaska Small Business Development Center, will announce its first Excellence Award recipients at the Anchorage Hilton on Thursday, May 21. Chugach School District and Southcentral Foundation have been selected.

Chugach School District (CSD), located in Southcentral Alaska, including most of the Prince William Sound coastline and islands, has been pursuing educational excellence since 1994 when leadership and stakeholders came together to face the realization that the quality of education in the district had deteriorated. Today CSD is a leader in education reform and innovation, having developed a model based on shared leadership and vision, a continuous improvement cycle and a highly effective standards-based instructional design.

Southcentral Foundation (SCF) is an Alaska Native non-profit health care organization established in 1982 under the tribal authority of Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI), one of 13 Alaska Native regional corporations created by Congress in 1971. SCF provides a wide range of health and human services to Alaska Native and American Indian people living in Southcentral Alaska. While managing nearly three decades of exponential growth, SCF has distinguished itself as one of the nation's leading care providers for Alaska Native and American Indian people. SCF is improving the health and social conditions of Alaska Natives, while enhancing their culture, and empowering individuals and families to take charge of their lives.

Each of these organizations underwent a rigorous evaluation. The panel of judges included: Joe Alexander, associate dean, Massey Graduate School of Business, Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee; Jason Brune, executive director, Resource Development Center, Anchorage; Randall Burns, executive director, Alaska Small Hospital Performance Improvement Network, Anchorage; Dr. Jim Evans, director TQM Center, University of Cincinnati; Dr. Steve Hagedorn, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; and Dr. Patricia Martinez, chief quality officer, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage.

APEX is a new program dedicated to recognizing Alaska organizations demonstrating world-class performance. It is a forum in which organizations from all corners of the public sector can learn from the successes of others. APEX is funded by the University of Alaska Foundation through charitable contributions from BP and ConocoPhillips. APEX is a partner program of the Alaska Small Business Development Center. Special thanks to Foraker Group for their help in crafting the start-up and sustainment strategy for APEX.

Registration and more information about the event is available at the APEX Web site. For more information, please contact Ben Park at (907)786-7919.